Saturday, January 24, 2009

Soaps from around the world

Okay, so I know I've been gone for a while - there's some really exciting things happening at USC (the company, not the college :) so I've been a little preoccupied. I decided to do my blog today on international soaps. I can't wait to visit these countries some day and get my hands on some of these soaps! Here are some of the most interesting ones I found:

[SWEDEN] Swedish Soaps - I wish that IKEA sold soaps because I would be the first person to buy them. I am in love with their packaging. They always feature whimsical characters and they're just the cutest things I've ever seen. Maybe we'll start working on a similar line soon - I hope![SWEDEN] - I think these are soaps from the same company as above. They have stamped them with different phrases like "Good Night" and "Be Nice". I don't know but it seems like the perfect kid soaps, altough I think any adult will also fall in love with them.

[JAPAN] - I have always had a lifelong goal to visit Japan and their soaps make me want to go even more! If you've ever had mochi (little jello type desserts) you'll notice that this packaging resembles theirs a lot. I love how everything in Asian countries is simple and elegant.

[JAPAN] - All right, so these are not Japanese soaps, but they were actually made in the USA, however you have to love fun shaped soaps. I'm getting hungry already![RUSSIA] - I thought that Russian soaps might be more colorful or at least their packaging, but then again maybe I didn't do my research too much because I was able to find very few russian soaps. If you guys have any other ones, please email them to me!!!

[AFRICA] - I'm not sure in which country they make these soaps but I thought it was perfect with their continent. It looks so earthy.[FRANCE] - Well you might have seen these little guys in Anthropologie (My FAVORITE store in the whole wide world). They are imported by a company in San Diego but they make all of their soaps in France. They smell really good, if I may say so myself. I'm a fan of their milk fragrance, but I have to admit I haven't purchased it and might never will - simply because I'm sure I'll get a craving for cookies every time I'm using the soap!

[FRANCE] - I love this picture! If you enlarge it, you'll see that the little yellow dots are actually duck soaps. Adorable!!!

[ENGLAND] - I found that English soaps are very simple, which I think is great. The ones I found usually came in single colors and were stamped with the company name on top (which is how everyone did soaps in the past).

[ENGLAND] - ooohh, I wish I can just smell them! They look like they were just picked from the tree...

[ITALY] - Italian soaps are so elaborate in their packaging. Very fance and elegant.

[ITALY] - how cute! They look like a box of chocolates.

[PORTUGAL] - Portuguese coconut soap. Love the shape.

[PORTUGAL] - These are Claus Porto soaps - you can find them in a lot of stores in the states and especially in Gracious Home in Manhattan.

2 comments:

Love these soaps! I used to work at an apothecary in DC that was the only shop in town that carried these at the time, and they were wonderful. I thought they were ridiculously expensive at the time, but now I can appreciate the value of a quality soap:)

Those are not Russian soaps. The company is Italian, from Florence, called Santa Maria Novella. The company was started by the Dominican Monks back in 1612 (incorporated). They are one of the oldest pharmacies in existance and that particular soap is called Russa (their 'Russian' soap). They are nice soaps but the best seller we find is their Pomegranete soap. A lovely Italian soap company is Neste Dante. Best regards, Alex, owner of Beauty Safari.